Ait ben Haddou is more than just a film set, though; it is a ksar, a fortified village whose history goes back almost a thousand years, although the maze of narrow and crenulated towers you see these days are mainly from the 17th century. As a strategic stop for caravans of camels, often numbering hundreds, on the trans-Saharan trade route from the Sudan to Marrakech carrying gold, silver and slaves and returning with salt, it would have been a thriving town, home to thousands. As well a private homes – everything from small palaces to modest one-room dwellings – there were communal areas including a public square, a mosque, a caravanserai to house those travelling with the caravans, grain...